GameStop’s $56B surprise bid for eBay shakes up e-commerce

GameStop has made an unsolicited offer to acquire e-commerce giant eBay ‌Inc. for about $56 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing an interview with GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen.

GameStop has built a roughly 5% stake in eBay and is offering $125 a share in cash and stock, Cohen told the WSJ.

The offer represents a premium of about 20% to eBay's last closing price on Friday.

If the U.S. ‌online marketplace eBay is not receptive, Cohen said he was prepared to run a proxy fight and take the offer directly to shareholders, the report added.

The WSJ noted that GameStop's market value sat at around $11 billion, while eBay towered over it with a $45 billion market value, as of Friday's market close. 

The report didn't have details on the potential offer, but WSJ said that Cohen could also take the offer directly to eBay's shareholders instead if eBay isn't receptive.

Grapevine, Texas-based GameStop is expected to disclose details of its offer later on Sunday, the Journal said.

It's important to note that the company's CEO, Ryan Cohen, could receive a $35 billion in stock if he meets certain criteria, including increasing GameStop's market value to $100 billion.

Additionally, acquiring eBay could also be a part of Cohen's plans to evolve GameStop beyond its reputation as a video games and collectibles retailer.

However, the company has experienced plenty of ups and downs in recent history.

In 2022, GameStop attempted to build a marketplace for non-fungible tokens that ultimately shuttered a couple of years later.

More recently, GameStop announced its plans to pivot towards retro gaming at select locations. While the company is still throwing ideas at the wall and seeing what sticks, it also closed down more than 400 retail locations across the US earlier this year.